


Moana: Selkie, Daughter of Life, Hero to Motunui

by moncon98



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Basically moana rewriten for if she was a selkie and maui was a merman, Minor Character Death, Miscarriage, Moana is a selkie, Monsters, Selkie AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-14 05:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9164476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moncon98/pseuds/moncon98
Summary: Moana AU where she's a selkie, maui is a demigod merman, and Te Fiti is a water and life goddess.Moana remembered little from her infancy, but she did remember one thing, the ocean, so why wouldn't her parents let her go?





	1. A new life

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [ v8roadworrier's](http://v8roadworrier.tumblr.com) au on tumblr. Thanks to [ Zabchan](http://zabchan.tumblr.com) on tumblr for discussing this with me.

Tui and Sina Waialiki had been trying for so long for a child. Not only did their village need a future cheif, but they wanted a child to love and care for. They had gone as far as to ask Tui's mother to try an old, ridiculous fertility dance for them. Nothing worked. At last Sina became pregnant, the village had a huge celebration and showered them both with gifts and blessings. Sadly it was not meant to be, for a month later Tui woke up to find his wife crying, covered in blood and clutching her stomach. All was lost in their hope and glee.

Below the waves and far away the people of the sea were having similar troubles. The merpeople and the selkies could not conceive with ease, and then the mother would usually die during the birth. One young selkie had recently lost her first battle to become a mother, and was drifting in the ocean. She prayed to the gods to grant her a child and was about to swim home when an oddly places current grabbed her and swept her away, deep under the waves. She tried to fight it, but it pulled her this way and that, finally depositing her in an underwater cave. She quickly swan up to and air pocket and gasped for air, she looked around and then noticed on the dry part of the cave there was a stone glowing blue. The woman crawled out of the water, her body shrinking into her human form, she got closer and looked at the stone, noticing the markings on it immediately. They were the markings of the goddess of water and life, the heart of Te Fiti. The woman couldn't believe her eyes, had the ocean carried her here to find this? She gently picked up the stone and held it in her hands, it felt like how she imagined holding life would. She quickly tied it to her cloak where it would be over her stomach while she was a seal. She left the cave and let the ocean carry her away. Quite a few months later the woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with a small blue mark on the back of her neck, the mark of Te Fiti. In honor to what gave her this child the mother named her Moana. It was the happiest day of her life, but it was not to last. The monsters of the ocean sensed the birth of her daughter and knew that she had the heart. They attacked her. She tried to run from them, tried swimming away, but they didn't stop and soon she was covered in deep cuts and gouges and was close to dying. Doing her a second favor the Ocean carried her away, faster than any monster. 

It was only a month since Tui and Sina had lost hope, but Tala was still trying, praying and wishing for them to give them a child and her a grandchild. She was walking the beach, looking for a place to pray when she saw something dark on the beach. When she walked closer she saw it was a seal, and it was bleeding. She ran to it, getting the attention of a nearby man who was collecting coconuts. He followed Tala to the injured creature, tala trying to sooth it, but before their eyes it turned into a woman with a baby clutched to her chest. The man gasped and ran, yelling back that he was going to get the chief. Tala stayed with the woman, trying to stop the blood. The woman held out her hand to Tala and the old woman gasped, staring at the heart of Te Fiti.

The selkie woman smiled weakly and pulled her cloak off as she spoke hoarsely, "Take the heart. Take my cloak. Protect my child till she is ready. Ready for her future. For her destiny."

Tala nodded and took both items holding them close as her son and daughter in law came running to them. The woman smiled weakly at them as well and held out her child. Sina came close and took the baby, holding her close to the mother.

"Moana. My Moana. I love you so much my miracle. Take care of her. She is a gift from the gods. She's yours now.... my bundle... of...life." With her final word the mother let her own life slip and the group watched as she died and turned to sand.

Sina was pulled from her sadness and horror by movement and cries from the child in her arms. She rocked and calmed the little girl as Tui came close and looked at them. Sina looked up hopefully at Tui and he nodded happily, his smile growing wide. Sina smiled as well and began crying, hugging her new child tight as they walked back to the village. The village welcomed the new chief to be happily and gleefully. She was the only child they had had on their island for a few years, but that soon changed as more women became mothers. Tui and Sina tried as well, but still could not conceive. They were dismayed, but it was washed away soon by their daughters happy laughter as her grandmother played with her. She may not be their blood but she was theirs, Moana Waialiki, future chief of Motunui.


	2. Call to the Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by hc5454 (tumblr: [nevergiveup0nlife](http://nevergiveup0nlife.tumblr.com) )
> 
> Hope you guys like it! Hc was a HUGE help!

As Moana grew the village taught her and the other children their history and ways. Her favorite times were always the story times with gramma Tala when she would tell ancient tales of monsters and glory. While the other children cried and cowered at the stories of the vicious beasts and gruesome deaths; Moana cheered for the hero and laughed when they always won. Her favorite ones were ones that held prophecy, feeling that one day, SHE might fulfill them. After all the storytimes young Moana would go to the shore to gather things she thought were neat, her favorite being shells, though she wasn't allowed to go too close to the water. After one particular story about the prophecy of Te Fiti, it ended with her dad getting tackled by frightened children. Moana noticed the sparkling water and left the hut to go look for shells. The water seemed to call to her, so she followed the call to a shell about to be washed away. Right as she was about to pick up the shell she heard a bird's squawk and turned to see the birds attempting to attack a small baby sea turtle. Moana looked between the sea turtle and the shell as it drifted back to sea before running to the trees; grabbing a large palm leaf from one of the shorter trees and ran back to the shore. She decided to use the leaf to cover the baby turtle as it made its way to the ocean, shooing away any birds that land nearby. 

When they finally made it to the water Moana smiled and waved bye to the little turtle, and was about to turn back to the village when she noticed the tide move to show the pretty shell she had wanted before she saw the turtle. She smiled and picked it up, leading to the water pulling back more to reveal another shell. This little game continued until Moana looked up and saw an adult turtle and the little one she saved behind a wall of water. As she stared, the water dipped and turned into a smooth, still wave above her head. She cocked her head in question and it did the same, coming down, ruffling her hair and twisting it. Soon Moana turned to the village, hearing the calls of her father. The ocean ruffled her hair flat again and surfed her to the shore on a bit of driftwood. When Tui came out of the trees to see his daughter soaked he got scared, thinking that she had tried to swim. He scooped the little girl into his arms and ran to their house where he hurried to dry her off with some fabric before checking her all over, sighing when he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Moana had no clue what was going on, only that this was not the first time. In reality, her father was scared she would grow a selkie cloak if she was in the sea for too long, then what was keeping her from leaving the village to live with her own kind. He smiled at his perfect little girl and tickled her, earning a sweet giggle. He knew they would have to be more careful from now on, keeping her from the ocean would be hard considering where they lived.

For the rest of Moana's life her parents were always pulling her away from the water, even from the fishing boats. They acted terrified whenever she tripped into the tide, rushing her home to dry her off. She wondered why they acted so only with her, but after a while she decided it was because she was the chief's only child and the first child after years of none. She did manage to escape their sights as she grew older, always running to her gramma by the sea shore. They would always find her and pull her back to the village though, saying they were teaching her things she would need to know for when she becomes chief. Just like when she was little she enjoyed time with her gramma more than anything. That is till one day, her gramma had been trying to sneak Moana to the ocean so she could try to swim, but was stopped by her father. 

"Dad! I was just looking, I wasn't going to get in. Promise." Moana spoke with a smile that betrayed the truth.

Tui gave his mother a look, but she simply shrugged her shoulders. With a sigh Tui lead Moana away, saying he needed to show her something. They walked for sometime, up the mountain at the center of her island, to the highest point of Motunui. She saw the stack of rocks at the top and gave her father a questioning look.

Tui walked over to the stack and put a hand on the top as he began talking, "When we become chief we add a stone to the top of the peak, raising the island, just like my father before me, and his father before him, and every chief since the beginning of Motunui. One day you will put your stone here as well, raising both the island and your people with you."

Moana stared at the stack, this was their mark; the mark of all the chiefs before her. She wanted to make them proud. She wanted to make her father proud. After that day she threw herself into her duties, spending less and less time near the water. She worked harder each day to prove herself not only to herself, but to her people. 

She WOULD be the chief Motunui deserved and make her ancestors proud.


	3. Blame the Pig

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thanks to [nevergiveup0nlife ](http://nevergiveup0nlife.tumblr.com) for both being my beta, and not getting mad at my confusion.

A few years pass before Moana's eyes as she takes on more and more duties; both as a daughter and the next chief. She still feels the pull of the ocean and the longing to be with her gramma, but she has gotten much better at suppressing the urge. Each day she learned how to delegate jobs. How to handle problems that faced the village. She learned how to fish on a boat, though she was rarely allowed on one; she learned to weave intricate designs onto a tapa mat, and even how to plant and tend to the gardens and groves. Her entire day was filled with learning, but she did get an odd day every now and the. To sit with gramma Tala as she told stories of their past and spoke of nearly forgotten chief. There were many times that Moana caught herself repeating the names and stories while doing her work. Part of her, the part that only thought of being chief, told her they were all just tall tales, not real, but made up. Some days Moana wanted so badly to believe that part of her, but her heart and the part of her that longed to be near the sea and with gramma Tala knew they were true.

It was a normal training day for her, walking around the island giving advice and answers to the people who came to her. So far she was doing very well, her father not having to correct her yet. She felt confident, as if she was ready for anything, but that confidence wavered when some villagers came to her, bearing the fruit of diseased coconut trees. Moana thought fast and smart, deciding that they should cut down the diseased trees and plant a new grove in a free area near the village. When she received praise for her decision, she smiled, knowing that at this rate she'd be ready to take her father's place soon. When they went to the fishing ships Moana was confused on why there were no fish, but the concern of a fisherman explained why.

"We've fished everywhere in the lagoon, there are no fish. They're all just... gone." The fisherman said, worry in his voice and face, along with the other fishermen.

Moana stepped aside, this was something her father had to discuss with the council, not something she could fix with some advice. As she stepped away she turned to the sea, her eyes falling on the line where the reef turned to the open ocean. More than ever she felt the pull of the water, the urge to swim in it, to travel in it. She climbed onto one of the boats, as if wanting to get a closer look.

Still staring at the ocean she asked, "Why don't we... go beyond the reef?"  
The words looked like they had hit Tui with a canoe, but he still had the strength to refuse, "Absolutely not!"  
"But, there's fish out there!"  
"We have rules, Moana!"  
"Old rules! From when there were fish!" Moana's anger was rising with every word, but it was nothing compared to the fear in Tui's heart.  
"No one is going beyond the reef! ESPECIALLY you!" The emphasis on the word made all the other men look away awkwardly and Moana look hurt.

Tui stood his ground for a good half minute of silence before marching back to the village. Moana stood there for another minute then let out an aggravated yell and stomped off. She walked around the island for a bit, avoiding people as much as she could. Then, she felt a soft body against her leg and heard an oink she couldn't help but sigh and kneel down to pet Pua. She walked a bit more, until she came to the shore once again. She looked at a sole boat sitting there, taunting her against the waves. She kept telling herself no, telling herself to go back, but when Pua brought her the oar she couldn't refuse. She picked up the young pig, oar and all, and put him on the boat. Using all her strength Moana pushed the canoe out onto the waves and hopped on. Being on the water felt so right, as if it was what she was born for. She smiled as they passed the first wave, water spraying over them, as if happily greeting them. Sadly it was not.

No sooner than she had crossed the first wave that the wind picked up, forcing her sails sideways. Her boat turned, a wave hitting them from the side, sending Pua over the side. Reaching, she decided to try and grab him before another wave hit the ship, knocking Moana off and flipped the canoe. Moana sunk to the bottom of the reef like a rock, not able to swim no matter how hard she tried. Even when she hit her foot on a hard piece of gravel. Whenever she tried to stand the wave currents would knock her back down. Right when she was about to run out of air the back of her neck began to burn and the currents started to help her, lifting her to the surface so she wouldn't completely drown, pushing her to the shore. When Moana got to a place where she could run underwater and still breath she took over, pushing and tripping her way to the dry sand. Once on dry land she started coughing up water, the burning on her neck stopping. 

She looked up to see Pua run away from the oar, then heard a calm familiar voice, "Whatever just happened, blame the pig."

Moana gasped and jumped up, hiding the sore on her foot behind her. That didn't stop gramma Tala from reaching out with her cane and pulling the foot out from under her, inspecting the bruise. Moana gave a worried look, but Tala simply smiled and put a finger to her lips, promising to stay quiet about it. With that off her mind Moana had time to look around at the damage. 

She frowned and sighed, looking up at the mountain as she spoke, "It's time I put my stone on the mountain."  
Tala gave her a good hard look before smiling and shrugging in a reply, "Okay!"  
The easiness of the answer took Moana by surprise, "Wait, you aren't going to try and convince me not to?"  
"You said that's what you wanted, so I won't stop you."  
"But... I nearly drowned! I couldn't swim in the ocean! I swim fine in the bathing pond! What aren't you telling me?"  
Tala gave Moana a look that made her feel naked then smiled a bit, "What do you want to know?"

Moana blinked. There was so much she wanted to know, so much that she didn't know where to start. Before she could answer Tala began into the trees, motioning for Moana to follow. Moana looked at Tala and soon followed. Now was not the time for fear, now was the time for finding out her past.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
